John F Kennedy Elem School, Spring Valley IL

Original Research by School Decision on John F Kennedy Elem School

John F Kennedy Elementary School is a prekindergarten through eighth-grade public school in Spring Valley, Illinois, serving a school of roughly this size in a small former coal-mining city along the Illinois River in Bureau County. The school's test results show a student body facing real academic headwinds.

In math, proficiency varies sharply across grade levels. Third grade performs at a mid-range level, but fourth grade drops sharply, and grades five through eight struggle considerably, with particularly low results in fifth and sixth grade. English language arts is more uneven: third grade and eighth grade perform better, while fourth and fifth grades are weak, with sixth and seventh grade below mid-range. Science testing is available only in fifth and eighth grade and shows low proficiency in fifth grade with notably stronger eighth-grade performance. Across all tested grades and subjects, the school's overall proficiency sits below the midpoint relative to other districts in Bureau County.

The school enrolls roughly what you would expect for a PreK-8 building serving the community. The student population is approximately three-eighths Hispanic, slightly more than three-fifths white, with small populations of students of two or more races and other groups. The school draws from a working-class community: major local employment centers include a large Walmart distribution center, Cargill and ADM operations, and some smaller long-standing businesses, though the closure of St. Margaret's Health hospital in June 2023 removed a major regional employer. The city has been pursuing revitalization through a tax increment financing district (with benefits through 2029) and downtown investment centered on recreation and parks, but population has been roughly stable over recent years.

A parent should note that the district has enacted a meaningful property tax levy increase for 2025—roughly a moderate jump over the prior year—which is relevant to any household evaluating the cost of home ownership here. Free-or-reduced-price-lunch data and English learner enrollment counts were not available in the provided information. The school's participation rate in state testing is complete, so the proficiency results shown reflect the full cohort assessed.

The school sits in a small, residential community with outdoor and fishing identity (Spring Valley calls itself the "Sauger Capital of the World"). Civic life centers on parks and downtown events rather than a sprawling campus setting. For families considering this school, the key reality is that academic performance is below regional peers, particularly in elementary and middle-school math, and parents may want to look into the school's support structures and curriculum approach to understand how it is working to address proficiency gaps.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 356%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 10 pts above state median

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 32%

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 53%

School 3% · District 3%

▼ 26 pts below state median

Grade 610%

School 10% · District 10%

▼ 14 pts below state median

Grade 719%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 10 pts below state median

Grade 816%

School 16% · District 16%

▼ 7 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 47%

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 416%

School 16% · District 16%

▼ 32 pts below state median

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 42%

▼ 10 pts below state median

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 43%

▼ 8 pts below state median

Grade 726%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 25 pts below state median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 53%

even with state median

Science

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 18 pts below state median

Grade 847%

School 47% · District 47%

▲ 7 pts above state median

This schoolSpring Valley CCSD 99, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.